The Kiwanis Club of Santa Fe held its organizational meeting on April 25, 1921. Founded with 59 charter members and one honorary member, the Santa Fe Kiwanis Club started six years after the first Kiwanis Club meeting took place in Detroit, Michigan. The Santa Fe Club was the first service club organized in the city and the fifth Kiwanis Club in the state of New Mexico.
The club's mission and priority has been to serve young children. The Club sponsors key clubs at two local public high schools and the Santa Fe Indian School. This latter club, established in 1954, was the first all Native American key club chartered in the United States.
Besides the key clubs, the Santa Fe Kiwanis members have awarded college scholarships to graduating high school seniors and assisted the work of numerous local non-profit youth organizations.
The Santa Fe Kiwanis Club organizes several prominent fund raising activities throughout the year. Annual activities include Pancake Day, Christmas Auction, and--most notably--the burning of Zozobra. This burning, which is the Club's largest event, kicks off the annual Fiesta de Santa Fe on the weekend following Labor Day. The first Zozobra was burned in 1926, and the Kiwanis Club began sponsoring the burning in 1963.
From the guide to the The Santa Fe Kiwanis Club Collection, 1924-2001, (The New Mexico History Museum, Fray Angélico Chávez History Library)
